I usually prefer historical romance, but this book made me want to try more contemporary stuff. The marriage counseling plot was really funny and sweet, and it's nice to see characters being more open about certain topics. That said, it's an eternal truth that so much could have been solved if they just talked to each other! Even when I know a HEA is coming, I hate knowing about a Big Secret standing between the main characters until the very end.

I love that Tessa Bailey has the ability to take overused rom-com tropes and make them fun, flirty, and unique again. She revives them and gives them life again!

This is a great second-chance romance that is emotional, raw, and meaningful. This book had the power to be steamy while also heart-warming...how? I'm not sure but I'm here for it.

Love Her or Lose Her had everything that I love in a romance. It was steamy, sweet, and angsty. I loved that this not only showed all the swoon worthy moments but also all the work that goes into maintaining a healthy relationship. I loved Rosie and Dominic's story. It made me laugh and cry. It was such an emotional read. If you like second chance romances then you should give this one a try.

Oh my god, I laughed so hard at this story. I loved how Tessa Bailey could suck you into the story with such ease. I found myself sitting there with Rosie and Dominic and alternating laughing at their antics and cheering for them to pull through because you could definitely see they loved each other, they had just lost their way for a bit when they got complacent. I think we all have been there. I know I definitely have.

I absolutely loved this romance! the main characters had great chemistry, and the secondary characters added some great texture to the plot. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but I'm not a big fan of couples trying to fix their marriage, so I was hesitant to read Love Her or Lose Her. (I absolutely believe that these books need to exist, they just aren't my cup of tea.) However, I really prefer to read all the books in the series so after seeing that Tools of Engagement was coming up I dived in. Boy am I glad I did.

My thoughts aside for Love Her or Lose Her, I definitely would have missed some key moments that set up the couple for Tools of Engagement (which I am beyond excited to read). That alone made it worth the read.

Back to Love Her or Lose Her. I liked Rosie and Dominic and got pulled in to the story early on. =I enjoyed their woowoo counselor so much (he's exactly what they needed) and as expected the supportive friends are amazing. Rosie and Dominic's story flowed nicely, but I had a hard time with the ending. With everything they were currently dealing with I can't imagine that that was so quickly resolved.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel in this series but sadly I didn't like this one at all. I thought the chemistry in Fix Her Up was fantastic and second chance romance is one of my all time favorite tropes so I was so excited to read this but it just fell completely flat for me.

Rosie and Dominic have ZERO chemistry (sexual or otherwise); I honestly have no idea why they've stayed together for ten years. Despite this, THEY LITERALLY CANNOT KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF EACH OTHER. They are apparently incapable of having a conversation or even making eye contact with each other without getting so turned on that they can't focus on anything else. It's ridiculous and unrealistic and not sexy.

Given that their relationship is the whole point of the book, that right there was enough for me not to enjoy it, and unfortunately nothing else managed to redeem it for me. The therapy sessions are crazy short and surface level, the whole "love languages" bit feels way too heavy-handed (not that I don't think love languages are a legitimate thing, but in a relationship as broken as theirs was they definitely would have needed to do more work than that - realizing that people show love in different ways is not enough to fix a marriage), the character development is nonexistent... even the cameos from the other characters aren't as satisfying as I expected them to be.

Dominic is also a total caveman, not in a sexy way. He's jealous and overprotective and always thinks he knows what's best for Rosie without ever communicating with her. He and the other men follow the women on a girls' night out at one point and that's honestly when the book totally lost me. The whole thing made me SO furious that I had to stop reading for the night and it took a few days to pick it back up. (This group also includes a character who is going to be the male romantic lead in the next book but at this point has only had two brief interactions with his love interest (both weirdly antagonistic for no reason - this is clearly meant to be enemies to lovers but there is no explanation for why they decided they hated each other right away), and has ABSOLUTELY ZERO RIGHT to have ANY opinion about where she goes or to be following her anywhere.)

Lastly, the nickname "honey girl"??? Gag. I thought "baby girl" was bad in Fix Her Up but this is way worse. I think even if I'd enjoyed other things about the novel that would have ruined it for me.

I am so so hopeful that the third book brings it back for me. I adore enemies to lovers and despite my misgivings about their interactions in this book, I'm really praying for Bethany and Wes to give me a satisfying conclusion to these characters' stories.


Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I attempted to read this book a few months ago but the subject matter- marriage in trouble just wasn't my jam at the time. I put it back on my TBR because I knew I wanted to read Rosie and Dom's story. So, I picked it back up and thoroughly enjoyed Love Her or Lose Her. Bailey took a sensitive subject and handled it with care and humor and I ended up loving Rosie and Dom!

I was nervous going into this because of my love for the first book. But as soon as I met Rosie, and truly got to know her character and Dominics.. I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I loved the character build, I loved the growth and how it was portrayed in a way that was real and mature and a true adult romance. But I did have a hard time with a few of the mellow dramatic scenes. Like in life, people are different. We need and want things in different ways and though that’s not always easy to do, it was for the most part handled well.. but not always. Over all, solid 4 stars and it kept me wanting more and impatiently waiting for the next book.

I really enjoyed this second chance romance. I liked that it wasn't long lost lovers or someone you hadn't seen in 10 years but a married couple Rosie and Dom. You were routing for them the whole time. It was such a refreshing story because so often in life people get married have kids/jobs and focus on other things besides their marriage and wake up one day and go hmmm I don't know my spouse anymore. How did we get here. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a really great story about fighting for love!

Love Her or Lose Her (Hot & Hammered #2). By Tessa Bailey. 2020. Avon (ARC eBook).

Rosie and Dominic Vega’s marriage is in trouble. As set up really well in Fix Her Up, we pick up with these high-school sweethearts and their failure to communicate leading to extreme marriage counseling to see if they can get back to their happily-ever-after. Recommended if you want a steamy, fun and emotional read!

While I truly enjoyed the second book in the series—the characters are awesome and the attraction between Rosie and Dom is intense—I was anticipating some exploration into Dominic’s military history. The PSTD aspect that could have been acknowledged more felt like a missed opportunity. But I’m definitely staying on board for the next romance between Bethany and the new guy in town.

Wowza! I need a cold shower after reading this book.

Rosie and Dominic don’t lack sexual chemistry after ten years of marriage but something else is entirely wrong between them. With no laughs, friendship or communication, they are struggling. With the help of her newly formed friendships, Rosie finds the confidence to leave her troubled marriage but Dominic won’t go down without a fight. After going to a “hippy” stoned therapist, both struggle but ultimately see that they both need to learn their own love language. Filled with plenty of heart, emotion and hot sex, you’ll fall in love with this couple and root for their marriage until the very end.

Recommend for readers who enjoy plenty of steamy sex scenes and characters that you can’t help falling in love with. Highly enjoyable!

I really enjoyed this book, although I liked Dom more than Rosie. What I liked the most is that they acknowledged that they would need to continue working on their marriage because it isn’t something that they can fix over night.

me. Instead, I kept getting annoyed with the couple. I mean, there are things they were doing here that made absolutely no sense. How anyone could get married and be together for years and not realize they need to communicate is beyond me. Seriously, their problems seemed like things they should have worked out before marrying. And in the end, I don't feel like either one of them learned anything or improved from the experience.

I feel like there are so much potential here. With a therapist involved they could have really looked into their issues and yet it almost felt like the sessions were a joke and a way for Rosie to semi-torture Dom. And again, while it is being toted that they grew closer, I don't see how that could have been possible! Seriously, they didn't seem to learn anything! 


I had a few other problems with this book too, but I'll end here. Don't think I'll be continuing on.

Rosie and Dominic have always loved hard. But after years of just living, loving or expressing their love has gotten hard. Watching them try to find their way, fight for a new happy and deal with their struggles was so emotional. At times light hearted, thank you amazing friends (Travis & Georgie, Bethany, Wes, Stephen). Other times it was painful and heartbreaking. Still yet it was holy hot, because this pair may have struggled but they haven’t lost their passion.

I adored Fix Her Up, so I couldn’t wait for the next visit to Port Jefferson. I think Tessa Bailey did a great job with both Dominic and Rosie, delving into what happens when the love of your life says your life together has stopped making them happy. This isn’t a total lighthearted story, but I definitely think it was beautifully written. Now I’m ready for Bethany and Wes’ installment because they are gonna be fire and totally hilarious!! 4.5 Stars

My second favorite thing about this book? I'll tell you: I really wasn't sure I was going to like it all that much, having my fair share of weird (and not so weird) quibbles with the first in Bailey's Hot & Hammered Series (Fix Her Up). So what's my favorite thing, you ask? It's that I loved this book.

The relationship felt so much more REAL & GROUNDED than that of the first book in the series, and I loved Dom & Rosie so much. Having a rom com book start in the MIDDLE of someone's relationship, and having them fight their way back to one another, is quickly turning into one of my favorite tropes. (Does this have a name? Is it considered second chance romance?)

The couples therapy in this book was so so so good, and I loved all of the talk regarding Love Languages (mine is a very strong lean towards Acts of Service, followed by Words of Affirmation). I loved watching both Rosie & Dom learn their own and each other's love language, and how this opened up a new realm of understanding for the choices that they had made for themselves and one another in the past.

I know Dom wasn't everyone's favorite, leaning on the alpha side of male as he did, but I really just loved him. I love being taken care of, and it was clear from basically the get-go that Dom wanted to take care of Rosie, and just couldn't for the life of him figure out how to do it right.

I seriously LOVED it, and I can't wait for the next book in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, & HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

I love Tessa Bailey, but this one fell a bit flat to me. I'd give it 3.5 stars. The characters were fun to interact with but I like rom coms that are 2nd chance romances, not let's get back together with our husband.

I honestly liked this one even more than FIX HER UP! The characters and their romance were totally charming and sweet, and as always I love Bailey's writing style. I will definitely be continuing to read this series!

If you need busting out of a reading slump, pick up a Tessa Bailey book. Works every time.

LOVE HER OR LOSE HER is no exception. This book is super duper sexy and has so much heart. While it might seem like a tall order - a marriage in trouble rom-com - Tessa Bailey pulls it off beautifully with a fun cast of characters who feel like family, even to the reader.

A homerun. As ever.

I originally DNF'd this one because it involves one of my least favorite storylines-when the characters are already married. BUT because it's Tessa Bailey AND because I loved Fix Her Up so much, I decided to pick this one back up. And I'm SO glad I did! This book was the sweetest story about a couple who have been together since middle school (wow!) and struggle to find a way back to each other when their marriage starts to fall apart. I cannot gush about this story enough. It is such a great addition to the series, but I think the upcoming third book might just be the best of all. Wes Daniels seems like such a fun male lead and I LOVE the little interactions that he and Bethany had in this book. I cannot wait for their story! 5 Stars for Love Her or Lose Her. LOVED!